Melnikova L S, Georgiev P G, Golovnin A K
Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119334 Russia.
Acta Naturae. 2020 Oct-Dec;12(4):15-33. doi: 10.32607/actanaturae.11144.
The mechanisms underlying long-range interactions between chromatin regions and the principles of chromosomal architecture formation are currently under extensive scrutiny. A special class of regulatory elements known as insulators is believed to be involved in the regulation of specific long-range interactions between enhancers and promoters. This review focuses on the insulators of and mammals, and it also briefly characterizes the proteins responsible for their functional activity. It was initially believed that the main properties of insulators are blocking of enhancers and the formation of independent transcription domains. We present experimental data proving that the chromatin loops formed by insulators play only an auxiliary role in enhancer blocking. The review also discusses the mechanisms involved in the formation of topologically associating domains and their role in the formation of the chromosomal architecture and regulation of gene transcription.
染色质区域之间远程相互作用的潜在机制以及染色体结构形成的原理目前正在受到广泛审查。一类被称为绝缘子的特殊调控元件被认为参与了增强子与启动子之间特定远程相互作用的调控。本综述聚焦于[具体物种未提及]和哺乳动物的绝缘子，并且还简要描述了负责其功能活性的蛋白质。最初人们认为绝缘子的主要特性是阻断增强子以及形成独立的转录结构域。我们提供的实验数据证明，由绝缘子形成的染色质环在增强子阻断中仅起辅助作用。该综述还讨论了拓扑相关结构域形成所涉及的机制及其在染色体结构形成和基因转录调控中的作用。
